radiothebook Chapter 510 The Cycle of Reincarnation
Chapter 510 The Cycle of Reincarnation
Kakashi and Obito talked for a long time.
All those emotions that had been building up for over a decade, all those words that were hard to articulate, all those feelings of guilt and self-reproach that I thought I would never have the chance to express, were all pouring out little by little today.
Obito calmly recounted the path he had walked over the years, while Kakashi listened silently, occasionally asking a question or two, but mostly remaining silent.
Gradually, Obito learned why Kakashi was able to come here.
It wasn't because of death, nor because of an accident, but because he was brought here while still alive.
Because of his disciples.
Naruto Uzumaki became the manager of this pure land...
"By the way, Obito... in the end, who exactly killed you?"
Kakashi's voice pulled him back from his thoughts.
Obito paused for a moment. "...Let's not talk about that."
He shifted his gaze to the distant grassland bathed in sunlight. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Kakashi opened his mouth, wanting to ask more, but was interrupted by Obito's next words. "Let's talk about what's to come."
Obito turned his head, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Kakashi and Rin. He knew he couldn't go back to the past.
This was something he understood the moment he saw the scarlet number above his head. 9.3—that was the mark of the most heinous criminals, the final judgment this sacred land bestows upon every soul.
A person like him doesn't deserve to stay here.
The animal realm, that is his destiny.
He will be reincarnated as an animal there, using countless lives to atone for the sins of his previous life. Perhaps he will become a fish and be served on a dinner table, perhaps he will become a bird and fly in the sky for decades before dying, perhaps he will become a stray dog and wander the streets, eventually being adopted by a kind person or freezing to death.
But he doesn't care.
Kakashi didn't want Obito to be reborn as an animal in his next life.
He wanted to say something, to find some way, some reason, some method to stop it all.
But he found that he couldn't say anything, because he had no right to stop it.
Too many people cannot forgive Obito.
Those innocent people who died in the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage, those who lost loved ones in the war, those wounded souls—they all have the right to hate, they all have the right not to forgive.
Even his own disciple, Naruto Uzumaki.
The child whose parents were killed by Obito, the child who grew up alone, the child who has now become the manager of the Pure Land and personally created this set of rules.
How could he possibly forgive Obito? How could he possibly let Obito escape the punishment he deserved?
Obito looked at Kakashi's silent expression, then at Rin standing beside him, her eyes already red-rimmed.
A complex mix of emotions welled up within him. He wasn't afraid of being reborn as a fish and served on a dinner table, or as a stray dog wandering the streets in his next life. He had long since stopped caring about those things.
What he feared was never those things.
There was only one thing he feared—that he would never see Lin again.
That was his only fear.
During those years of wandering in darkness, what kept him going, besides that lie, was the thought that "I will see Lin again someday." Even though that thought was twisted, corrupted, and turned into something terrible, it was still there.
Now, he has finally seen her again.
But soon, he was going to lose her again.
Obito's gaze lingered on Rin's young face for a long, long time before he turned to look at Kakashi.
"Kakashi, do me a favor."
Kakashi looked up at him. "Let your disciple..." Obito paused, "let Rin return to the human world as 'Rin'."
Kakashi was stunned.
"Don't let her forget all of this," Obito continued. "Don't let her be reincarnated, don't let her become someone else. Let her return to that world in her current form."
Kakashi felt like something was blocking his throat.
"And I..." Obito continued, his voice growing softer, "Even though it's very unwilling, I have to say it—" He looked up at Kakashi. "I hope you can take care of her."
Just then, Obito suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right... there's something."
Kakashi looked up.
"The new rules of the Pure Land," Obito said, his voice carrying a barely perceptible fluctuation, "A human soul, each time it returns to the Pure Land, will retain all the memories of its human reincarnations."
"all."
Kakashi's eyes widened slightly.
"In other words..." Obito's voice trembled slightly, "After I atone for my sins, even if it takes thousands of years, after I return here as a human—"
"I can also reunite with Rin as Obito."
His gaze passed over Kakashi and landed on Rin's young face, which was now covered in tears.
Obito looked at her, a slight smile curving his lips—his first genuine smile in over a decade.
"So, Kakashi," he said, turning his gaze back to his old friend, "do me this favor."
"Let Lin return to the present world and live as Lin."
"And then—wait for me to come back."
------
Time passed peacefully for a while.
Outside, nothing earth-shattering happened. The ninja world remained peaceful, the borders between the five great nations were at peace, the daily tasks of each ninja village were carried out as usual, and the villagers worked from sunrise to sunset, everything was the same as before.
The new order established in the Pure Land is unknown to the outside world.
This was done intentionally.
Because if humans knew that death does not mean the end, but rather that they would be reincarnated and start anew, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.
Those who should face death calmly will become fearless, those who should cherish life will become reckless and adventurous, and those with ill intentions will become even more unscrupulous—after all, you can start over after death, so what's there to be afraid of?
Therefore, the existence of the Pure Land, its rules, and everything about it are strictly sealed behind that gate of life and death.
Those who are alive only need to live well.
However, some subtle changes occurred behind the scenes.
So small that it goes unnoticed by anyone, so small that only a very few people know the reason behind it.
First, at Konoha Hospital, a young medical ninja recently arrived.
She was a girl who looked to be only about thirteen years old, with neat short hair and a gentle smile on her face.
Her medical skills were exceptionally good, and she treated patients with patience and meticulous care, quickly earning unanimous praise from everyone in the hospital. However, strangely, this girl's file was not on the list of recently graduated Konoha genin.
She seemed to appear out of nowhere.
What's even stranger is that this girl is very close to Kakashi Hatake.
Almost every day, Kakashi would personally pick the girl up from get off work. In the evenings, at the entrance of Konoha Hospital, you could always see that silver-haired figure leaning against the wall, waiting for the girl to come out. Then the two would walk side by side and disappear at the end of the street.
Some people privately speculated that they might have that kind of relationship.
But it doesn't look like it at all.
Kakashi's attitude towards this girl was strange. It wasn't the way a man looks at a woman, but rather a mixture of guilt, remorse, and cautious tenderness. His gaze always carried something indescribable, as if he were looking at a daughter he had wronged for far too long.
The girl had a similar attitude towards Kakashi.
When she took care of Kakashi, the level of thoughtfulness she displayed was completely unlike the sweetness between lovers.
She would remind Kakashi to eat on time, bring him a cup of hot tea when he stayed up too late reading, and check on him to see if he was injured when he returned from a mission.
Another change occurred further away, in a little-known rumor that didn't attract much attention.
Neji Hyuga, the genius of the Hyuga branch family, left Konoha.
It wasn't defection.
His teammates Rock Lee and Tenten confirmed this themselves. They caught up with Neji and asked him what he was doing. Neji simply told them calmly that he was leaving the village to find someone.
His father, Hyuga Hizashi, was abducted from a caravan transported from Kumogakure by the [Jin] organization when he was a child.